LGBT

KinnPorsche : The Horniest Show on Earth – A Review

/ Lady Divine / 30 Comments

***Please Note: This review is extremely media heavy (lots of gifs & images) so give your device a minute to load. P.S. All images can be enlarged if you click on them.

KinnPorsche is a Thai BL, aka a “boys love” series, created specifically with the fandom of BL in mind.

It’s a story about a mafia boss recruiting a new bodyguard and their subsequent romance as they navigate the criminal underworld, attempt to unravel the complicated web of their families, and find excuses to take each others clothes off.

The one scene we all remember from the original trailer

And like millions of others around the globe, I am currently obsessed with it.

Listen, I don’t know how to phrase this accurately – but this show gave me everything I wanted. As a fan of dramas. As a gay lady. As a content creator and consumer. KinnPorsche said, “Here, have Everything.” Including things I didn’t even know I wanted (which I will explain later).

Is it for you? It might be.

This fanmade music video is better than any trailer for the show. Check it out to see if you want to check it out.

I have loved a lot of dumb shows in my lifetime, but rarely has a series actually loved the audience back as much as this show.

The fandom was feral while this was airing. The euphoric high of waiting week to week, sharing gifs, theorizing, gushing and groaning and getting goosebumps together going over the last episode as anticipation grew to a frantic frenzy for the next. Ya’ll. Seriously. Summer of 2022 was sizzling.

If you have not noticed the fandom freakout over this series – and also somehow managed to avoid major spoilers or couple moments or Youtube & TikTok videos, Tumblr posts, Twitter threads, and so on… then wow. Congratulations! You may yet enjoy a pure viewing experience of this masterpiece.

If you have noticed it all and thought… what in the world is all this horny mess and should I check this out? Then yes, you should also watch it and wait with impatience for all of the scenes you have already seen to unfold before your eyes.

(images from Tumblr @moerusai – one of the supreme leaders of the Kinnporsche empire / fandom)

If you are coming from watching Korean Dramas or perhaps never watched an Asian drama at all – there are a few things you should know.

Without spoilers – please keep these things in mind:

  • The plot is a minor inconvenience. By that I mean do not go into this show expecting a deep dive into machinations of the Thai mafia, serious character studies, profound explorations of morals or psychology or anything else that usually sneaks its way into mafia-centric media. Don’t get me wrong, there is mafia-ish stuff happening. But don’t dig too deep into it. If you aren’t coming into this show exclusively to have fun watching gorgeous men get together while wearing suits and wielding guns, then check your tickets cause you may have purchased them in error.
  • The Action Sequences remind me of action TV from America the 1980-1990s. Meaning, they are not the highly cut, crazy angle, so-fast-you-nearly-miss-it, typical American style action-sequencing of today’s shows. They’re more on level and in real time. Still impressive to the modern eye but don’t expect John Wick, ya dig? Oh, and occasionally there are “tango-action” sequences… where the characters literally roll onto each other or into each others arms or whatever… and yeah, it’s ridiculous but it’s also sexy and fun and reminds you this isn’t The Godfather, this is a gay romance.
  • The Genre Shifts Constantly but should not be too jarring to anyone familiar with Asian dramas, which frequently jump from comedy to melodrama to romance to action and back all in one episode. There will be hot sensual scenes followed by slapstick, cheeky comedy… and mafia shootouts followed by bodyguards sitting around gossiping… serious plot moments followed by drunken dancing at a bar. And that’s just the nature of the beast with this show.
  • Most importantly, you should know IT’S SUPER GAY and in no way ashamed of it or apologetic about it or even that concerned with your opinions of the subject. This is not a show about coming out, gay self acceptance, or homophobia. This show takes place in a strange alternate dimension where very few women have speaking roles and nearly every man is gay or bisexual. This is peak BL, people.

KinnPorsche has become a global phenomenon and I would recommend it to everyone just so you aren’t being left out. What do you have to lose? The two male leads are exceptionally attractive, have unbelievable chemistry together, and there are plenty of enjoyable “mafia” moments inbetween all kinds of goofy shenanigans and kissing. KinnPorsche is both PG and NC-17 and you will have fun bouncing between the two.

(images above from Tumblr @kinnporsche)

So go and download IQIYI (or find some alt links – keep reading this post *wink *wink) and watch the show if you haven’t.

KinnPorsche (Thai BL) – Overall Rating: 10/10. The Horniest Show on Earth, otherwise known as Whump and Rump in the Gay Mafia.

In the sections below, I will be rambling on these topics:

  • THE LORE & BACKSTORY (no spoilers – the backstory to this show is just as wild as the show itself – includes all trailers and promos)
  • THE GAY MAFIA ROMANCE SHOW TAKES OVER THE WORLD (lots of spoilers)
  • THE CHARACTERS (no deep dives here, folks, just a quick hello to our major players)
  • THE COUPLES: KINN / PORSCHE (spoiler city)
  • THE COUPLES: VEGAS / PETE (spoiler city)
  • THE WORLD TOUR (in which I lose my mind, collectively, with the fandom)

Want to know more?

A FANDOM LOVE STORY: Spoilers, Gossip, Trailers, Pics, Gifs, and More below…

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Review – Devil Judge

/ Lady Divine / 5 Comments

I loved this drama. It was a 10/10 for me. It had all the hallmarks of a good melodrama – plenty of angst and anguish. Child abuse, dark secrets, shadowed mansions, homoerotic antagonism, BDSM, murder, mayhem, and more. There’s plenty of twists and turns in this drama, keeping the excitement running full speed and the tension high. It’s over the top and a great escape from the norm when you want something different.

Overall, it’s a story about one man trying to determine what kind of person another man is. This evaluation is a difficult and ongoing process – because the man in question does not behave or react in typical ways.

He’s contradictory.

He’s secretive.

He’s extremely clever and ruthless.

He’s manipulative and brazen.

One minute he’s nurturing and the next minute he’s throwing punches.

Mercurial is an understatement.

Determining whether or not he is a “good” buy or a “bad” guy is the ultimate challenge – which is intriguing as both the men in question are judges. It is literally their job to figure people out.

It is also a nice metaphor for figuring out your sexuality when it doesn’t fit neatly into the standard package (the bisexuals in the audience will get this message right away) – there’s a lot of second guessing, a lot of flip flopping sides, a lot of confusion and emotions, and depending on your circumstances a lot of internal resistance, guilt, anger, and shame that you may have to process before you come to acceptance of your unique self.

What is good and bad, right and wrong? What are the rules and who made them? Justice is tricky shit, after all. About as tricky as realizing there is no “normal.”

There’s so much to talk about with this show that I had to narrow it down to keep this review from turning into a novel. But I think I can manage it… maybe. This review is going to be focus on 2 major plot points – the Justice, aka the politics of the drama – and the Queer-Coding, aka, the characters.

There’s gonna be spoilers mixed in with what follows… so go ahead and watch the show. Come back when you’re ready to discuss.

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Review – Nevertheless

/ Lady Divine / 3 Comments

I just finished Nevertheless and… I liked less of it than I expected.

Listen, friends, I went to art school. So there were certain expectations I had going in. I expected a lot of partying (which we got, more or less) and a lot of emotional relationship rollercoasters (which we got). I expected lots of art of the middle-tier level, cause honestly only about 10 percent of art majors go on to become professional artists. Does this invalidate art school in any way? Of course not. Lessons learned while pursuing your interests cross over into all fields. I was pleasantly surprised to see the studio filled with a bunch of rather boring bust sculptures and a few welded creations of various skill level. Regardless, students were constantly in the building working at odd hours, sometimes throughout the night. They say art and architecture majors put in 2X the work outside their already extremely long official classes and that is no exaggeration. Creating art takes time.

There were a lot of things I had hoped to see but didn’t. School cafeterias. Cramped dormitories. Tiny cheap apartments elaborately decorated with a hodge podge of items – hand me down furniture, half broken shelves, beaded curtains, posters, mismatched pillows, the typical first apartment scene. There is nothing quite like the glorious disaster of your first apartment, and art majors can make any hovel into a truly unique and fun hobbit hole. Unfortunately we really only got to spend time in the leading female’s apartment, which was very spacious and swanky. But due to the global pandemic, I am willing to overlook location choices at this time.

There is a whole vibe to art majors. Here are some pictures from my years as an art major…

Nevertheless captured most of the overall vibe of art school, kinda. The unique, casual fashion choices. The close knit group of student-friends who practically live at the studio. The concern over what’s next always looming, the insecurities about the future constantly needing to be drown out with booze and dancing and kissing and long hours making art work.

So what’s my problem with Nevertheless?

My main problem?

The main couple.

I absolutely did not care for either character – or actor – and found them insufferably boring, one dimensional, and annoying. The girl reminds me of Seo Hyun-Jin, who I’m not a fan of. It was uncanny really, and I actually had to stop the show to look it up on my phone to see if the actresses are related. It’s not that they look alike – it’s that they behave alike. The same weird style of flirtation. The same awkward wooden physicality. I have never really understood the dynamics of the romances with Seo Hyun-Jin and I didn’t understand this romance either.

The male lead just reminded me of one of those goldfish with really big eyes. Kinda pretty I guess, but not a lot going on in the brain pan. I did not see the appeal. (*update – I recently watched Love Alarm and was startled to see this catatonic lover boy can indeed pull out some facial expressions when so required! Just… not in this show). Though to be fair, these two secretive people seemed perfect for each other – both enjoying their clandestine romances and using their cold shoulders to keep people at arms length. We got a lot more “skinship” and booty scenes than your typical Korean drama in this show. The lead couple really only looked happy when they were making out – though still they seemed so busy being beautiful it felt more like a photoshoot than a natural occurrence of body chemistry and desire.

After the third episode, I just started skimming their sections entirely because I did not care. Was it because my first week back at work had been a stressful, hellscape and I just wanted to escape into a blissful alternate reality? Perhaps. But I don’t think I will like these leads even if I go back and watch it when less stressed out. You can’t cut it with a table knife, you can only spread it around.

With that said – the less ended up being great! By that I mean outside the main couple, the side couples were awesome.

There were several and I found each of their stories adorable and engaging.

Can you spoil a very short romance drama by saying people get together? I’m never really sure and I would hate to ruin the few enjoyable moments of this otherwise dreadfully “Meh” drama with spoilers. But then again… it was a “Meh” drama so really any encouragement to watch this show should probably be mentioned here.

So… spoilers? I guess. Not really, but whatever.

Let’s start with the best side-couple, our ladies in love. When you’re given rainbow crumbs, you gotta eat them, I guess… cause how else will they know you’re hungry? We’re hungry! We’re starving! Give us more gay characters in mainstream dramas, please.

These girls had been friends for years and over time their feelings had changed. Though they were both noticing the difference between their emotions for each other, they both experienced it differently – and processed it differently – and I really appreciated the differences between their characters. They were refreshingly not stereotyped either.

These were two ladies who couldn’t seem to stop touching each other. As it happens with many people who develop feelings for each other out of a friendship, jealousy of an “intruding” party was the catalyst for change.

I loved this couple. Was I annoyed by how little romantic skinship we got between the two compared to every other couple in this show? Yes. Yes, I was. Deeply. But was I also happy on how much physicality, flirting, and gayness we got from this couple? Also yes. Yes, I was. Extatically. At least they let them cuddle and frolic and hold hands and hug and confess feelings and be openly in love.

We also had the wild-child girl with the multi-colored hair who enjoyed being young and sexual, but could not resist the stoic guy with the deep voice. I love couples like this – with clear similarities but also opposite personality types. They’re always such to watch.

This couple also had the sexiest kiss scene, in my opinion – when our funky gal was wasted and made a move on our quietly nurturing hottie.

There were a few other couples scattered throughout the art major friend group. We even got to enjoy the adorable cohabitation romance of the graduate students. All in all, the side characters stole the show.

Overall Rating – 4/10 (side couples story lines 9/10). Worth it for the Side Couples.